Chapter VI Legal Liability

Article 59 Where a person commits any of the following acts, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime, a penalty for administration of public security shall be imposed on him according to law:

(1) smuggling, selling, transporting or manufacturing narcotic drugs;

(2) illegally possessing narcotic drugs;

(3) illegally cultivating the mother plants of narcotic drugs;

(4) illegally trafficking in, transporting, carrying or possessing the seeds or seedlings of the mother plants of narcotic drugs, which are not inactivated;

(5) illegally imparting the methods for manufacturing narcotic or psychotropic substances or the chemical materials that can easily be transformed into narcotic drugs;

(6) compelling, or instigating another person to ingest or inject drugs, or luring or inveigling him into doing so; or

(7) providing narcotic drugs to another person.

Article 60 Where a person commits any of the following acts, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime, a penalty for administration of public security shall be imposed on him according to law:

(1) shielding an offender who smuggles, sells, transports or manufactures narcotic drugs, or harboring, transferring or concealing, for an offender, narcotic drugs or the pecuniary and other gains from criminal activities;

(2) giving information to an offender when a public security organ is investigating criminal offences related to narcotic drugs;

(3) obstructing inspection of narcotic drugs conducted in accordance with law; or

(4) concealing, transferring, selling, damaging or destroying the money or things of value involved in criminal offences related to narcotic drugs, which are distrained, sealed up or frozen by a judicial organ or administrative law-enforcement organ in accordance with law.

Article 61 Where a person provides shelter for another person to ingest or inject narcotic drugs, or leads another person into trafficking in narcotic drugs, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime, he shall be detained by a public security organ for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than RMB 3,000 yuan; if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan.

Article 62 A person who ingests or injects narcotic drugs shall be given on a penalty for administration of public security according to law. If a drug user goes to the public security organ for registration on his own initiative or goes to a qualified medical institution to receive treatment of drug addiction, he shall be dispensed from any penalty.

Article 63 Where in the course of experiment and research of narcotic or psychotropic substances, or of manufacturing, marketing, using, storing, transporting, importing or exporting such substances, or of cultivating the mother plants of narcotic drugs for medical use, State regulations are violated, so that the said narcotic or psychotropic substances or mother plants flow into illegal channels, which constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated for according to law; if the violation is not serious enough to constitute a crime, a penalty shall be imposed according to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 64 Where in the course of manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, transporting, importing or exporting chemical materials that can easily be transformed into narcotic drugs, State regulations are violated, so that the said chemical materials flow into illegal channels, which constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated for according to law; if the violation is not serious enough to constitute a crime, a penalty shall be imposed according to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 65 Where a recreation center or any of its employees commits an offence related to narcotic drugs, or provides conditions to the persons who go to the recreation center to commit an offence related to narcotic drug, which constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated for according to law; if the violation is not serious enough to constitute a crime, a penalty shall be imposed according to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

If a manager of an recreation center clearly knows that groups of people are ingesting or injecting drugs or drugs are sold in the center, but fails to report to the public security organ, he shall be penalized pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 66 Where a person, without approval, engages in the treatment of drug addiction, he shall be ordered to discontinue the illegal treatment by the administrative department for health, and the illegal gains derived therefrom and the medicines, medical apparatus and instruments, etc. used shall be confiscated; if a crime is constituted, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 67 Where a medical institution for treatment of drug addiction discovers that a person receiving such treatment ingests or injects narcotic drugs during the period of treatment, but fails to report to the public security organ, it shall be instructed to rectify by the administrative department for health; if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification.

Article 68 Where a compulsory isolation center for drug rehabilitation, a medical institution or a doctor uses narcotic or psychotropic substances in violation of regulations, which constitutes a crime, it or he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the violation is not serious enough to constitute a crime, penalties shall be imposed according to the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Article 69 Where a staff member of a public security organ, judicial administration department or a relevant department in charge commits any of the following acts in the fight against narcotic drugs, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the case is not serious enough to constitute a crime, he shall be given a sanction according to law:

(1) covering up or conniving at a drug-related offender;

(2) subjecting persons receiving treatment of drug addiction to corporal punishment, maltreatment, humiliation, etc.;

(3) misappropriating, withholding or pocketing the funds earmarked for the fight against narcotic drugs; or

(4) without authorization, disposing of the seized narcotic drugs, or the money or things of value that are involved in offences related to narcotic drugs and are distrained, sealed up or frozen.

Article 70 Where a unit concerned or any of its staff members discriminates against a person receiving treatment of drug addiction in terms of enrollment in schools, employment, enjoyment of social security, etc., it or he shall be ordered to rectify by the administrative department for education, or the administrative department of labor; if losses are caused to the said person, it or he shall be liable for compensation according to law.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 71 This Law shall go into effect as of June 1, 2008. The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on the Prohibition Against Narcotic Drugs shall be annulled at the same time.

The English translation is for reference only and if there is any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.